Dolphins Release K Jason Sanders, FB Alec Ingold
A busy day ahead of the start of free agency continues as it was announced today that the Dolphins will be parting ways with kicker Jason Sanders (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter) and fullback Alec Ingold (per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo). The Dolphins had attempted to rework the deals of both veterans to help them stay in Miami, but with no deals coming to fruition, Sanders and Ingold will head to free agency. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the pair of transactions will put the Dolphins’ cap space at about $5MM. 
Sanders had been the Dolphins answer in the kicking game for seven years before this past season. Drafted in the seventh-round out of New Mexico in 2018, Sanders immediately put an end to what had been a consistent rotation of kickers on one- or two-year stays dating back to a four-year tenure of Dan Carpenter. Though not asked to do much, Sanders delivered as a rookie only missing two field goal attempts and one extra point attempt. He saw a few more misses in his sophomore campaign but reestablished himself in 2020 with a first-team All-Pro performance.
In the final dying days of the 2025 preseason, it was disclosed that Sanders was dealing with a hip injury that was expected to keep him out for the first four or five weeks of the season, necessitating a temporary replacement. When 12 weeks of the season had come and gone, and Sanders was still nowhere to be seen, newer reports out of Miami indicated that there was no sense of whether or not Sanders was any closer to a return or whether or not he would return at all.
In Sanders’ absence, the Dolphins turned to young journeyman kicker Riley Patterson to fill in. Only 26 years old, Patterson made the Dolphins the sixth NFL team of his career. He’d previously spent time with the Lions, Jaguars, Browns, Jets, and Falcons and had only kicked an entire season with a team once — 2022 in Jacksonville. Patterson was outstanding in replacement duty, converting 27 of 29 field goals attempts and 34 of 35 extra point attempts.
Per Jackson, the Dolphins have not been actively pursuing a new contract with Patterson. Not wanting to pit the two specialists against each other, Miami focused their efforts first on trying to convince Sanders to restructure at a lower rate. Now that a deal with Sanders is no longer being pursued, it stands to reason that the Dolphins may now pursue a renewed agreement with Patterson.
Ingold’s time in Miami comes to an end after four years with the team. Joining the Dolphins after an initial first three years with the Raiders, Ingold has found plenty of use on one of the few teams left still utilizing a fullback. Starting 47 of 66 game appearances, Ingold got most of his use as an extra run blocker, though he has contributed in the pass game, as well. A team captain who was chosen three times to be the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, Ingold’s biggest impact may have been in the locker room and the community.
As the Dolphins clear out some low-hanging fruit to clear up a bit of cap space ahead of free agency, Sanders will see free agency for the first time, and Ingold will now look to find a new NFL squad looking to utilize a fullback.
Bears To Acquire C Garrett Bradbury From Patriots
Garrett Bradbury is heading back to the NFC North. Days after Drew Dalman‘s retirement, the Bears have a deal in place to acquire Bradbury from the Patriots, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.
Chicago is sending a 2027 fifth-round pick (per ESPN’s Adam Schefter) to New England for Bradbury, who logged six seasons as the Vikings’ starting center before being cut in 2025. The former first-round pick started every game for the Patriots last season, doing so after logging 88 starts with the Vikings from 2019-24.
The 2025 offseason dispersed Dalman and Bradbury elsewhere. A four-year Falcon, Dalman signed a three-year, $42MM Bears deal. Not too long after his Vikings release, Bradbury landed in Foxborough via a two-year, $9.5MM pact. The Bears will pick up Bradbury’s $3.7MM 2026 base salary.
This trade comes after Tyler Biadasz, who visited the Bears in the wake of the Dalman retirement news, agreed to a three-year Chargers deal worth $30MM. Chicago will save quite a bit at center compared to Dalman or Biadasz, though Bradbury will likely be a downgrade from Dalman’s 2025 work.
Pro Football Focus graded Bradbury as the NFL’s No. 29 overall center last season. The Patriots voyaged to Super Bowl LX, but their O-line featured shaky stretches beyond merely Will Campbell‘s late-season struggles. Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson are certainly familiar with Bradbury from previous NFC North clashes, but it is worth wondering if the Bears will add a center option in the draft as well. Bradbury will turn 31 in June.
The Vikings gave Bradbury a three-year, $15.75MM deal in 2023; that came after then-GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah did not pick up the Rick Spielman draftee’s fifth-year option. PFF has never graded Bradbury as a top-10 center, but the advanced metrics site did place him 11th in 2022. Rankings outside the top 20 have followed in the years since.
The Bears, who officially placed Dalman on the reserve/retired list today, look to be passing on a free agent market that also includes Connor McGovern, Cade Mays, Lloyd Cushenberry and Ethan Pocic. Tyler Linderbaum is PFR’s No. 1-ranked free agent, but with Biadasz potentially being too pricey for the Bears (if that is indeed the case), the four-year Ravens starter’s explosive market certainly would be.
Chicago looks set to plug Bradbury into an O-line returning starters Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Darnell Wright — while LT Ozzy Trapilo will spend part of the season rehabbing a patellar tendon tear — while New England will need a new center. Ben Levine’s Patriots Offseason Outlook mentioned Bradbury as a potential cut candidate. It is worth wondering if the Patriots will be in the market for a free agent upgrade soon. The Bradbury trade will also mark a reunion for Thuney and Bradbury, who played together at NC State.
Raiders Release OL Alex Cappa
Alex Cappa‘s reunion with Tom Brady and John Spytek did not lead to a full-time starting job. The veteran guard will be a one-and-done in Las Vegas.
The Raiders announced Cappa’s release Friday. The move will create just more than $5MM in cap space for the AFC West team. The veteran guard did log some center snaps in 2025, playing there more often than at guard, but the Raiders will call it a day despite also having four-year guard starter Dylan Parham unsigned.’
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Cappa signed a two-year, $11MM deal following his 2025 Bengals release. The Raiders used the former Brady Buccaneers teammate as an eight-game starter. Cappa, 31, is an eight-year veteran with 104 starts on his NFL resume.
Formerly Tampa Bay’s Ali Marpet guard mate, Cappa did not end up starting in Super Bowl LV due to his only notable injury with the Bucs. The 2018 third-round pick returned in 2021 but left for a Bengals deal in 2022. As Cincinnati overhauled its O-line after a 2021 Joe Burrow sack parade, Cappa inked a four-year, $35MM deal and joined Ted Karras and La’el Collins as veteran imports that offseason. The Bengals cut Collins after one year, while Karras remains with the team.
Lining up as the Bengals’ right guard for three seasons, Cappa received a pink slip before his final year on that $35MM pact. Asked to play a new position with the Raiders, Cappa struggled. As run lanes for rookie Ashton Jeanty were sparse last season, Pro Football Focus graded Cappa as the NFL’s third-worst center (among those with enough snaps to qualify). The Raiders have Jordan Meredith (PFF’s sixth-worst 2025 center) and Jackson Powers-Johnson — a Rimington award winner who has been asked to play guard in the pros — contracted among interior O-linemen. Parham can begin speaking to other teams Monday.
Texans To Extend TE Dalton Schultz
Less than 24 hours after agreeing to a one-year extension with Danielle Hunter, the Texans have a deal in place with Dalton Schultz. Like Hunter, it is a one-year bump.
Schultz is extending his contract through 2027 at a rate of $12.6MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Between the 2026 and ’27 seasons, Schultz is now due $17.6MM guaranteed. Schultz is heading into his fourth Texans season, and this extension positions the former Cowboys draftee to play a fifth in Houston. This move comes hours after the Texans created $8MM in cap space by releasing Joe Mixon.
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Initially joining the Texans on a midlevel deal (one year, $6.25MM), Schultz impressed in C.J. Stroud‘s rookie season and reupped on an upper-crust pact (3/36). That came shortly before free agency in 2024. Two years later, Schultz became a Texans priority again after another strong season.
Catching a career-high 82 passes, Schultz totaled 777 yards and three touchdowns last season. While the former fourth-rounder’s yards-per-reception number dropped to 9.5 — his first such season since 2020 — Schultz operated as Stroud’s No. 2 target behind Nico Collins during a season in which Houston again featured a subaverage ground attack.
Schultz, 30 in July, was set to carry a $15.9MM cap number in 2026. That will drop thanks to this extension. Should Schultz play out this deal, he will have split his career into five-year runs with Dallas and Houston. The Cowboys turned to Schultz after their Blake Jarwin extension did not pan out, with the former ultimately becoming the team’s Jason Witten successor. The Cowboys prioritized Schultz via a franchise tag in 2022, but like Mike Gesicki in Miami, no extension came to pass before that July’s deadline. A disagreement on term length between Schultz and the Cowboys led him to the market in 2023, and he has not tested it since.
While Schultz’s career-best yardage season remains his 808-yard 2021 in Dallas, he put up 635 yards in his Houston debut to help Stroud to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. After a 535-yard 2024, the pass-catching tight end bounced back to help the team return to the divisional round in 2025. The Texans are a defense-powered operation, but they now have Schultz and Collins signed beyond 2026. Those deals pair with the team’s pair of Iowa State-developed wideouts — Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel; both players are tied to rookie contracts through 2028.
Cardinals To Cut DT Dalvin Tomlinson
Dalvin Tomlinson will be a cap casualty for a second straight year. After the Browns released the veteran defensive tackle in 2025, ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss reports the Cardinals are moving on.
Arizona will save $9.4MM by releasing the nomadic defensive lineman, moving its cap-space figure past $48MM. PFR’s Cardinals Offseason Outlook tabbed Tomlinson as a logical release candidate, and the team is separating from the nine-year veteran after a disappointing season.
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Landing on his feet after the Browns release, Tomlinson agreed to a two-year deal worth $29MM. Although the former Giants and Vikings interior D-lineman started 17 Cardinals games, the season did not go as the team hoped. As the Cardinals slogged to a 3-14 finish — which included a significant defensive regression — Pro Football Focus graded Tomlinson 114th overall among qualified interior D-linemen.
This exit will mark Tomlinson’s first one-and-done stay. After spending four years in New York on a rookie contract, Tomlinson scored a two-year, $21MM Vikings accord. He build up his value in Minnesota, securing a four-year pact worth $57MM in Cleveland to start Jim Schwartz‘s DC tenure. The Browns used Tomlinson as a full-time starter but designated him as a post-June 1 cut last year.
The Cardinals, who employed future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt and future first-team All-Pro Zach Allen together up from 2021-22, have seen some of their D-line investments since fail to deliver much. PFF graded 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson as the NFL’s worst interior D-lineman last season. Calais Campbell, as he always does, played well but has not decided if he will play an age-40 season. If Campbell does return, he is not a lock to stay in Arizona — even with the team retaining DC Nick Rallis despite firing Jonathan Gannon.
While the Cardinals also used a first-round pick on D-lineman Walter Nolen last year — ahead of what became an injury-plagued rookie season — they have a need up front yet again. Tomlinson, who turned 32 last month, will try his luck in free agency again. Although the former second-round pick has fared well on the market each time he has tried, his next contract will undoubtedly be a fraction of his previous pacts.
Bills Release Taylor Rapp, Dane Jackson
As Buffalo continues to make room for D.J. Moore‘s contract, the team will release two more veterans. Taylor Rapp and Dane Jackson have been cut, per a team announcement.
The Bills released cornerback Taron Johnson and wideout Curtis Samuel earlier today, confirming those cuts now. Rapp’s release will save the Bills more than $3MM, while Jackson’s exit creates $1.2MM in additional funds.
As Connor Byrne’s Bills Offseason Outlook indicated, Rapp was an expected cut after missing much of last season due to injury. The Bills had retained Rapp — a former second-round Rams draftee — on a two-year, $10.63MM deal. This came on the same day as Buffalo’s initial Jordan Poyer release (in March 2024). Poyer, however, made his way back to Buffalo last year and ended up playing extensively in place of Rapp.
Rapp, 28, underwent knee surgery in October and did not return last season. The Bills used Rapp as a reserve in 2023 — behind the longtime Poyer-Micah Hyde duo — and as a regular starter alongside Damar Hamlin in 2024. A 48-game Rams starter, Rapp started 24 games in Buffalo. While the veteran should draw interest elsewhere, this is a crowded safety market. A host of veteran starters are available, potentially pointing to some needing to accept below-market deals.
Buffalo, which has 2024 second-round safety Cole Bishop under contract for two more seasons, brought Jackson back after the veteran DB spent a season in Carolina. A former Bills seventh-round pick, Jackson only saw action in three games last season.
Rounding up the Bills’ wave of Friday cuts, the earlier Johnson release is expected (per The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia) to be a standard cut as opposed to carrying a post-June 1 designation. The Bills announcing the release effectively confirms Buscaglia’s account, as players designated as post-June 1 cuts cannot officially be jettisoned until March 11.
Vikings C Ryan Kelly To Retire
Two centers who relocated to the NFC North via free agency in 2025 have now retired. Following Drew Dalman‘s Bears exit, Ryan Kelly is calling it quits.
The Vikings center announced Friday he will wrap his playing career after 10 seasons. Nine of those came in Indianapolis. Kelly signed a two-year, $18MM Minnesota deal last March.
While Dalman’s retirement proved shocking due to his age (27), Kelly is leaving the game at 32. The former first-round pick made four Pro Bowls during his time with the Colts, landing an extension in 2020. Kelly played out that deal before trekking to Minnesota. He loomed as a possible Vikings cap casualty. The Vikes imported both Kelly and guard Will Fries from the Colts; they will need a new center in 2026.
Drafted 18th overall out of Alabama in 2016, Kelly began his career blocking for Andrew Luck. While Luck abruptly retired three seasons into Kelly’s career, the talented center became an Indianapolis cornerstone as the franchise cycled through quarterbacks over the next several years.
Although Ryan Grigson drafted Kelly, GM Chris Ballard made him a priority during his tenure. The Colts gave Kelly a four-year, $49.65MM extension before the 2020 season. The Colts locked up Braden Smith and Quenton Nelson over the next two summers, forming a strong O-line core. Kelly was at the heart of it, helping Jonathan Taylor win the 2021 rushing title by more than 500 yards. As Taylor zoomed to first-team All-Pro acclaim, Kelly earned his third Pro Bowl nod.
Kelly’s lone All-Pro honor — a second-team selection — came in 2020, when the Colts made the playoffs during Philip Rivers‘ first stint with the team. Snapping primarily to Carson Wentz in 2021 and Matt Ryan in 2022, Kelly picked up his final Pro Bowl accolade as Gardner Minshew‘s snapper in 2023.
Injuries intervened for the decorated blocker in 2024. A knee malady led Kelly to IR midway through the 2024 season, after he had missed two games earlier in the year. Kelly missed seven contests in 2024. He had expressed interest in a second Colts extension, but the team did not reciprocate. After testing free agency, he joined Fries in being part of Minnesota’s 2025 interior O-line makeover.
The Vikes added Kelly, Fries and first-round guard Donovan Jackson to revamp their O-line around holdover tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill. Kelly, though, missed nine games in 2025. He suffered two concussions in three weeks, the second leading the $9MM-per-year Viking to IR. Shut down after Week 4, Kelly returned in 12 but ended up missing Minnesota’s final two games. Last season included three Kelly concussions in total, with ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert indicating he suffered at least three more over the course of his career.
Minnesota, which used both Blake Brandel and Michael Jurgens in place of Kelly last season, had released longtime center Garrett Bradbury in hopes Kelly would play multiple seasons. But the team will instead pick up $8.4MM in cap space. This moves the team near cap compliance, with OverTheCap indicating the Vikings are more than $1MM over as of Friday afternoon.
Texans To Release RB Joe Mixon
Days after agreeing to acquire David Montgomery from the Lions, the Texans are moving on from their previous running back trade pickup. Joe Mixon is out, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Considering Mixon missed all of 2025 with an undisclosed injury, this move was expected. The nine-year veteran’s career may be in jeopardy at this point. Mixon underwent surgery recently; his timetable is unknown. This release will come with a non-football injury designation, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero.
Mixon requested the release, Schefter adds, and the move will save the Texans $8MM in cap space. With Montgomery arriving as a younger option to pair with Woody Marks, Mixon was almost definitely headed out of town regardless of a release request.
The Bengals were close to releasing Mixon in 2024, but the Texans came in with a late trade offer — a seventh-round pick — for the longtime Cincinnati starter. Houston then extended Mixon on a two-year, $19.75MM deal. That contract included $13MM guaranteed at signing, representing a nice landing for the veteran RB after he had accepted a Cincy pay cut in 2023.
The 2024 season — which featured several relocated veterans making impacts at running back — brought success for Mixon, who totaled 1,016 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games. This earned the former second-round pick a Pro Bowl invite, as the Texans returned to the divisional round. But Mixon’s Houston tenure changed last year, when a foot injury sidelined him ahead of training camp. The Texans placed Mixon on the reserve/NFI list to start the season and never activated him.
It is still not known how or when Mixon suffered the injury, but he was never designated for return from the NFI list. GM Nick Caserio said (via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson) Mixon did not sustain the injury away from football activities. Though, landing on the NFI list meant the Oklahoma alum was injured away from official Texans workouts. The injury occurred before the summer, with Mixon in a walking boot last spring. That prompted the Texans to sign Nick Chubb, who played on a one-year, $2.5MM deal.
This saga steadily brought negative updates for Mixon. At first, he was to miss multiple weeks of training camp. He then landed on the reserve/NFI list to mandate a four-game absence. Reports then pegged the former Bengals extension recipient may miss all of 2025. By season’s end, Mixon’s NFL future was viewed as uncertain.
Mixon, who has five 1,000-yard rushing seasons on his resume, pursued nonsurgical options last year, according to Wilson. No disclosure was necessary due to Mixon never appearing on an injury report last year, but Wilson adds the team honored Mixon’s request for privacy regarding the ailment.
Commanders To Re-Sign Treylon Burks
Treylon Burks will have another chance in Washington. Washing out in Tennessee, the former first-round pick has agreed to a second contract with the Commanders.
The fifth-year veteran is signing a one-year deal worth up to $4MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Washington added Burks soon after his Tennessee release and used him as an auxiliary wideout alongside Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel last season.
Catching 10 passes for 130 yards (and one memorable touchdown) in his 2025 stint in Washington, Burks will attempt to continue his bounce-back effort after a disappointing Titans tenure. The Titans waived the Arkansas product from IR via injury settlement in October of last year, and a practice squad opportunity with the Commanders emerged soon after.
Burks made one of last season’s most memorable plays, snagging a one-handed touchdown reception despite tight coverage from Broncos cornerback Riley Moss during a Sunday-night contest in November. That was only Burks’ second NFL touchdown, however. With Samuel a free agent, the Commanders will see how Burks fits in new OC David Blough‘s offense.
Entering the NFL with injury concerns, Burks missed 12 games over his first two seasons and played in just five games in 2024. An ACL tear ended Burks’ 2024 season, and he sustained a broken collarbone during Titans camp last summer. Added with the first-round choice Tennessee acquired from Philadelphia for A.J. Brown, Burks has 63 career receptions for 829 yards. The 225-pound pass catcher is entering his age-26 season.
Packers To Move On From Rashan Gary?
1:17pm: We look to have an Instagram hacking situation here. That is the case, per Demovsky. Gary has not been informed he is being released or traded yet, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
12:48pm: Rashan Gary‘s Packers tenure looks set to end after seven seasons. The veteran edge rusher announced (via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero) his time with the team will wrap soon.
Tied to a four-year, $96MM extension, Gary had played out the guaranteed portion of his contract — one that ran through the 2027 season. Gary was due an $18MM base salary in 2026. The Packers could designate the OLB as a post-June 1 cut, but they cannot do so until March 11.
It is not known if Gary will be traded or released, according to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. But it certainly appears the 2019 first-round pick has been informed he’s done in Green Bay. Gary has since deleted this post (h/t ESPN’s Rob Demovsky), injecting confusion into the proceedings.
Gary, 28, had been the subject of trade talks (per Pelissero) recently. The Packers would save $10.78MM with a standard release, which could take place today. They would, however, pick up $19.5MM in 2026 cap space with a post-June 1 designation. Teams are allowed two of those annually.
Gary’s production has not aligned with his $24MM-per-year pact, and the Packers could be searching for a new Micah Parsons bookend soon. Though, the team has 2023 first-rounder Lukas Van Ness — a player who has not lived up to his draft billing — as an option for 2026. Van Ness has started just two career games.